The Government’s New Fraud Strategy 2026 – 2029 – Impacts and Considerations for Businesses

The Government has introduced a new fraud strategy which articulates how the UK intends to combat fraudulent activity, reinforce safeguards for individuals and institutions, and improve mechanisms for victim support, underpinned by three strategic pillars: disrupt, safeguard and respond. The Government launched the Strategy in March 2026 in a 93-page document presented to parliament by the Home Secretary outlining a £250 million investment between 2026 and 2029. In recognition of the increase in scale and sophistication of the fraud landscape, the Strategy is grounded by a governance framework designed to ensure clear leadership, effective implementation, ongoing evaluation of impact, and robust accountability across the system.

Why Has the Government Launched This Action?

Fraud remains the most reported crime in England and Wales, with annual losses estimated to exceed £14 billion. Crime reduction and economic growth were identified by the Government as central priorities in its Manifesto, reflecting the scale of the challenge. This trend is reflected in the Crime Survey for England and Wales, which recorded a 31% year on year increase in fraud and found that such offences now account for approximately 45% of all crime across England and Wales.

Fraud has wide-ranging consequences for individuals, businesses and the wider economy. Victims frequently suffer not only from financial loss but also significant emotional and psychological harm. Businesses and charities likewise face direct financial harm, reduced consumer confidence, reputational damage and increased defensive costs, which may inhibit future growth and investment. Collectively, these impacts suppress economic activity and slow wider economic growth.

What Does the Strategy Look Like?

The Strategy seeks to address fraud at its point of origin by preventing the exploitation of the UK’s telecommunications and online infrastructure, as well as strengthening controls within business practices. It sets out the mechanisms by which delivery will be measured and overseen, supported by an enhanced governance framework grounded in clear leadership and accountability. The Strategy also complements the objectives of the Police Reform White Paper, particularly its emphasis on smarter crime prevention and public protection through partnership working. This sits alongside further Government proposals to transfer responsibility for fraud, economic crime and cybercrime to the National Police Service and the National Crime Agency.

Pillar 1: Disrupt

Disruption at source, requires a proactive approach to deny offenders access to the tools, systems and methods they seek to exploit. The Government has committed £31 million to establish an Online Crime Centre (OCC), intended to enhance data sharing across relevant partners, analyse emerging trends and intelligence, and support the coordination of high‑impact law enforcement activity. The Strategy is underpinned by a legal framework for information sharing, with the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 expressly recognising crime and fraud prevention as a lawful basis for data sharing, supplemented by forthcoming guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office.

The Government aims to disrupt the misuse of corporate structures for criminal purposes while protecting legitimate businesses from exploitation. Central to this approach is the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (“ECCTA”), which introduced a series of reforms including mandatory identity verification for company directors, persons with significant control and individuals submitting information to Companies House. The Act also strengthened the Registrar’s powers to scrutinise, remove and reject information, share data with relevant authorities, take enforcement action and strike off companies established for unlawful purposes.

In parallel, the Government has acknowledged that fraud may be perpetrated by corporate entities themselves, and to address this risk, the Act created a new corporate offence of failure to prevent fraud which came into force in September 2025. Large organisations are now required to implement proportionate preventative procedures to facilitate compliance, enforcement and self-reporting.

Pillar 2: Safeguard

The Strategy’s second line of defence focuses on safeguarding, targeting fraud that evades initial disruption measures and adopts intention to build resilience. Central to this pillar is the importance of effective communication, public education and access to resources, with the objective of ensuring that people are informed, alert to threats and better equipped to protect themselves. The Government has emphasised that a resilient society is a crucial component of fraud prevention, particularly as criminal techniques continue to evolve.

Key initiatives include the national Stop! Think Fraud campaign, designed as a behaviour-change programme encouraging individuals to recognise and prevent fraud before harm occurs. The Home Office is working on raising awareness of practical tools for detecting fraud, while the Department for Education will embed educational resources on fraud and money laundering into the schools’ curriculum. Together, these measures aim to promote early awareness and long-term change.

The Strategy also recognises consistent patterns in fraudsters targeting vulnerable individuals and prioritises tailored safeguard responses. The Protect Network, comprised of specialist law enforcement officers, has been established to deliver targeted, community-based education to reduce risks of revictimization and mitigate harm. Alongside this, the Home Office is developing data driven methods to identify fraud hotspots, enabling targeted prevention activity and the rollout of a Financial Safeguarding Scheme. This work is complemented by cross government collaboration between the Home Office, National Crime Agency and the Financial Conduct Authority.

Pillar 3: Respond

The Government recognises that despite enhanced disruption and safeguarding measures, fraud will continue to occur and must therefore be met with an effective and victim-focused response. A central objective of this pillar is to improve the experience of victims through an accessible and coordinated framework for reporting, investigation and redress. This begins with a single national reporting route, designed to streamline victim engagement and enable timely law enforcement action.

To enhance consistency in victim care, the Home Office intends to introduce a Fraud Victims Charter in 2027. The Charter will establish nationally recognised standards. In parallel, the Government has sought to mitigate the financial harm suffered by victims by maintaining mandatory reimbursement for authorised push payment (APP) fraud (otherwise known as a “bank transfer scam” where an individual is persuaded to send money to the scammer) under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023.

Operationally, the Government has strengthened investigative capability through the National Fraud Squad, which integrates officers from the National Crime Agency, the City of London Police and Regional Organised Crime Units to deliver intelligence-led enforcement. Looking ahead, the Government is supporting the development of AI enabled tools to assist with law enforcement in trading and recovering proceeds of fraud and improving intelligence sharing.

In recognition of the cross-border nature of fraud, UK law enforcement will continue to engage in bilateral and multilateral cooperation through International Liaison Officers and partnerships with organisations such as INTERPOL and Europol. In addition to criminal enforcement, the Home Office is supporting pilot schemes aimed at expanding the use of civil law tools to pursue offenders and recover funds for victims. As outlined in the Government’s July 2025 response to the House of Lords Liaison Committee, consideration is also being given to whether civil penalties for fraud and facilitation of money laundering may offer an effective alternative or complement to criminal proceedings. This may draw on existing legislative models, including the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act 2025, which confers powers to impose civil penalties for fraud and attempted fraud. Just how this would sit alongside the strict liability criminal offence of a failure to prevent fraud in ECCTA remains to be seen.

What Does This Mean for Businesses and Professionals?

The Strategy signals a deliberate shift towards a proactive, prevention‑focused framework, placing increased responsibility on businesses and professionals to address fraud risk at source. Organisations are expected to take an active role in identifying and mitigating fraud risks, raising expectations on internal governance, decision‑making and risk ownership across the professional services landscape. This elevates fraud from a control function to a board‑level responsibility, with corresponding implications for directors’ duties and potential personal exposure.

In practice, businesses will be required to demonstrate that fraud risks have been properly considered, documented and addressed, with clear audit trails and defensible decision‑making embedded into day‑to‑day operations. Existing policies and procedures must be kept under review to ensure they remain effective in identifying evolving types of fraud, rather than being treated as static or tick‑box exercises.

These developments are of particular significance for directors and officers. As regulatory and enforcement scrutiny intensifies, post incident analysis tends to focus on what directors knew, when they knew it and what steps they took in response. Where boards are unable to demonstrate or evidence any active oversight of fraud risk, this can give rise to regulatory investigations, claims brought after fraud loss, and coverage notifications under D&O related policies. The government also outlines its plans to investigate and prosecute rogue directors, including using the new Abusive Phoenixism Taskforce within the Insolvency Service to prosecute individuals who repeatedly use companies for fraudulent purposes or to evade debts.

Conclusion

The Strategy provides important insight into the direction of travel for fraud regulation and enforcement in the UK. Enhanced coordination between government, regulators and law enforcement, coupled with greater use of data, technology and cross‑border cooperation, is likely to result in earlier intervention and more sustained scrutiny following fraud incidents. Against this backdrop, businesses and professionals must consider not only how fraud is prevented, but how their actions and governance arrangements will be assessed after the event. Proactive preparation, clear accountability and defensible decision‑making will be central to navigating the legal and regulatory challenges that accompany these developments.

If you have any questions regarding the information discussed in this article, please contact Ross Baker and Bethany Turner.